The Battle of Reach
by ApacheTheWriter
Summary: A transcript of the Battle of Reach from the supercarrier UNSC Trafalgar. WIP. Drop me a review and tell me what you think, or if i should bother continuing.
1. Chapter 1

BEGIN REPORT  
>REPORT CONDUCTED BY AI FALKNER SRTF-3411-35926-37-F<p>

SUBJECT: ANALYSIS OF THE BATTLE OF REACH

UNSC TRAFALGAR

TRAFALGAR-CLASS SUPER CARRIER

FLAGSHIP, ERIDANI DEFENSE FLEET

ATTACHED TO ERIDANI DEFENSE GROUP 1/A1

COMMANDING OFFICER- FLEET ADMIRAL ROLAND FREEMONT  
>00745-16778-HS<p>

-

DATE- AUGUST 30, 2552, 0750 PM

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

-

(UNSC Eradani defense fleet at condition red. Officers scramble around the bridge as alarm bells ring.)

- Report!

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER-  
>Reach station Gamma giving reports of a massive in-system slip-space rupture, sir. They believe it's the Covenant.<p>

OPS OFFICER-Holy..Covenant fleet coming out of slip-space, sir, 12,000 kilometers out!

(The pulse rate of the OPS officer is noted to have increased, and the man begins sweating profusely)

OPS OFFICER- Sir... Scans reading enemy strength in excess of seven hundred ships!

(All 40 people on the bridge fall silent.)

WEAPONS OFFICER- Dear christ... They've never sent a fleet that big...

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- Alright. There's millions of people down there on that planet. We are not going to let those aliens through. Warm up the MAC guns and remove launch safeties from everything we have. Get the rest of the fleet to do the same. I want a coordinated approach vector.

(The NAV, COM, And WEAPONS officers spring into action.)

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- Get me a channel to The refit stations.

(The COM officer types on two keyboards at once to execute the Admiral's commands.)

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER- Channel opened, sir.

REFIT STATION BRAVO COMMANDER- Admiral?

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- I'm sure you and your crew know what we have on our hands here. We're outnumbered three to one. Even with the ODPs, I doubt we really stand any chance... I hate the order i'm about to give you boys. We're taking a page out of Stanforth's playbook. I'm having my AI transmit you your Navigation vectors. Please transmit your non-essential crew to escape pods. I'm sorry.

(The channel goes dead.)

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- COM, how many ships en route?

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER- Fifty ships inbound from surrounding systems, sir.

(The Admiral mutters under his breath)

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- That will never be enough...

OPS OFFICER- Sir, their fleet's moving in.

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- Understood. What's our status?

WEAPONS OFFICER- Macs one and two warming up, sir, sixty percent and climbing.

SINGLE SHIP DEPLOYMENT OFFICER- We have Longsword squadron charlie and echo in launch bays two and three, ready to launch at your command, sir.

OPERATIONS OFFICER- All bulkheads sealed. Non-essential personnel are at assigned stations.

ENGINEERING OFFICER- Reactors at 90 percent, sir. Temperatures normal.

NAVIGATION OFFICER- Alright, sir, Covenant ships holding at weapons ranges.

OPERATIONS OFFICER- They're charging weapons.

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- Okay, this is it. Give the order to the refit stations. Launch longsword wings.

(As the covenant ships charge and release balls of plasma, the sacrificial refit stations move to cover the fleet.  
>Balls of plasma explode on their frontal surfaces, pushing them backwards, and their skeletal husks drift back, under the UNSC fleet.)<p>

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- Alright. This is it. Lock missiles at ships with downed shields. If the cannons are charged, target one of the CSO classes and fire at will.

WEAPONS OFFICER- Copy, sir. Firing now.

(The Trafalgar and all the other ships in the fleet spit bolts of fire at the covenant fleet. The MAC rounds impact, making shields shimmer. The orbital Super MACs also fire, every round that hit obliterating the unfortunate ship.)

OPERATIONS OFFICER- They're returning fire!

(The covenant ships let loose a second salvo of plasma. As it nears the fleet, it dissipates in the massive cloud of titanium dust left behind by the refit stations. The bridge crew collectively sighs in relief.)

NAVIGATION OFFICER- Looks like that trick won't work twice. They're moving around the cloud, sir.

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- Divert all power to MAC guns!

(The covenant fleet maneuvers around the cloud of titanium dust and releases a staggering volley of plasma.)

OPERATIONS OFFICER- Brace for impact! Plasma inbound in 10 seconds!

(The massive plasma volley smashes into the fleet, decimating it. The plasma sizzles and melts through meters of titanium, goring ships and detonating some into balls of fire. When the dust clears, more than 50 UNSC ships have been decimated. Several plasma torpedoes smash into the ten meter thick armor of the Trafalgar.)

OPERATIONS OFFICER- Hits in sections 3,4, and 7! Armor at 5.5 meters!

WEAPONS OFFICER- Remote fire control lost for all starboard weapons in section 3!

ADMIRAL FREEMONT (FLEETCOM 7)- All ships, pull back to defend the ODPs! Do not let the covenant breach the perimeter!

(The 20 orbital defense platforms spit out 2000 ton depleted uranium slugs at three percent the speed of light with a blinding flash. The rounds close the distance to the covenant ships in seconds, obliterating any ship they hit.)

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- We need some cover fire. Get the Minotaur and the Dearborn to link up with us.

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER- Aye, sir. Woah..

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- Report!

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER- The minotaur was just destroyed by a weapon i've never seen before.

WEAPONS OFFICER- It appears to be an energy projector, sir, but it moved faster than anything i've ever seen. Speed of light, i would guess.

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- Source?

NAVIGATION OFFICER- Analyzing.. Far side of the battle, sir. Massive covenant ship, No pattern match.

(The covenant ship releases another beam of energy, this time smashing into an Orbital MAC. The station disintegrated.)

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- We need to get some titanium between the guns and that ship.

ADMIRAL FREEMONT (PRIVATE CHANNEL, UNSC MUASHI) Muashi, this is Freemont. Move to cover the MACs. We have an unknown covenant vessel with a lethal energy projector type weapon. Damn sniper. We need to protect those damn guns. Freemont out.

(The tactical screen shows the Muashi moving to cover the MACs as another flash of blue shot out from the sniper ship. The carrier was severed in half. It's engines remained powered, and the wreckage careened into the drifting hulk of a destroyer.)

ADMIRAL STEVENSON- Damn it!

(The Trafalgar is now one of five heavy capital ships remaining.)

OPS OFFICER- Sir, they're charging again. Telemetry indicates they're gunning for us now.

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- Fire emergency thrusters!

(The chemical thrusters on the Trafalgar detonate.. But the massive supercarrier is too slow. The energy projector grazes along the starboard side.)

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- Damage report!

OPS OFFICER- Massive hull breach, all decks, all sections! Engine control offline. Massive causality reports!

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- The fucking thing cut through all decks and twenty meters of battleplate.. Sound the order to all remaining crew, we're abandoning ship. Muster in hangar alpha, transfer all pelicans to that hangar.

(The TACTICAL And SINGLE SHIP DEPLOYMENT officers hastily carry out his orders.)

OPS OFFICER- They're firing again!

(The lance of energy impacts again.)

(The entire bridge crew is knocked to the ground. The COM console explodes, spewing flames. The overhead lights flicker out, replaced by eerie red emergency lights. Smoke fills the air.)

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- (Coughs) What the hell... Give me a damage report!

(The OPS officer struggles to get up to his console.)

OPS OFFICER- S-Sir.. Direct hit, all decks, section D. Reactor offline, main power offline, backup power devoted to grav and life support. Hull integrity critical, sir, one more hit and we're done.

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- What is the status of the evac?

OPS OFFICER- All functional lifeboats away... But estimate 100 people still on board, sir.

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- Extinguish that fire. Do we still have radar online? How is the battle going?

OPS OFFICER- Only 12 of our ships remaining now sir. All remaining UNSC forces are moving off.

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- There's no choice but to play dead. If we try to arm weapons and fight again...

WEAPONS OFFICER- Sir, Even if we play dead, this isn't a stealth ship. They can still detect life signs and power output.

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- Noted. There's no choice. Shut down all external lights. Arm forward missile pods, facing away from the covenant. Low speed, make as little emissions as possible. Target them at coordinates 124275 by 237261.

WEAPONS OFFICER- Sir, are you aware where those coordinates are?

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- I am. Fire.

(The remaining missile pods open, and a stream of archer missiles shoot out. They are set to low speed, minimal emission. They streak away... Then suddenly arc around. They strike the Trafalgar in section D near main engineering.)

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- Status?

OPS OFFICER- Direct hit from our own missiles, section D, main engineering. Sir, if i may ask, what exactly was the point of that maneuver?

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- This ship has the largest armor belt the navy has ever made. Those missiles barely scratched us... But they made a hell of a light show.

COM OFFICER- A trick...

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- A trick. The covenant, with a little luck, think our number one reactor just went critical.

WEAPONS OFFICER- The radiation from our reactor going critical would fry everyone on board.. We're playing dead, sir?

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- That's Correct.

WEAPONS OFFICER- But the covenant should be able to detect minimal radiation emissions coming from us, sir?

(Freemont gestures at the tactical screen. It shows a wrecked destroyer drifting near the Trafalgar)

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- The Radiation leak from the Herodotus is covering us. The lead foil is protecting us.. But the Covenant, with luck, can't tell the difference.

OPS OFFICER- That buys us some time. But standard covenant procedure is to move all our destroyed ships to the planet's poles to make room for glassing. They will eventually move in to us... Perhaps even come aboard.

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- Yes.. Give me an inventory of all Marines and ODSTs in Cryo bays 2 and 5.

TACTICAL OFFICER- Sir, cryo bay 5 was destroyed in the last attack, but we have 2 squadrons of marines and 7 ODSTs in Number 2.

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- Wake them up. Muster in Armory 5.


	2. Chapter 2

UNSC Trafalgar Cryogenics bay 2. Recording subject: PFC Michael Barnes, Service number 1351-2581615-73718-MB

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

-  
>TRAFALGAR SHIP COMPUTER: Initializing Cryogenic resuscitation. All units online. Opening pod doors.<p>

SGT VASQUEZ- Alright, get up, get up, get up! Move!

(PFC BARNES and the other marines fall out of their cryo-pods, throwing up fluid onto the grated deck.)

(BARNES gets up sluggishly and begins putting on his gear)

SGT VASQUEZ- Dress up, ladies, and get your asses down to Armory 5. Admiral wants us all there ASAP.

CPL BLAIR- What the hell is this?

SPC. TSARDIKOS- Hell if i know, man!

(The squad finishes dressing, and falls out of the cryo bay. They jog down the hallway towards the Armory. The only lighting is from the occasional red emergency light.)

PVC BLAIR- Something doesn't feel right... Where's everyone else?

(The squad rounds a corner and finds themselves in the armory. Another squad of marines and a few ODSTs standing at attention. They fall in. ADMIRAL FREEMONT Walks in.)

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- (clears throat) Gentlemen, i'll get right to it. Approximately 2 hours ago, we engaged a covenant armada over reach. We were decimated. This ship sustained extreme damage, and our main power is offline. The backup power is devoted to keeping us alive. As such, there are no computer systems, no AI, and no coms. We set up a decoy to make it look like our reactor went critical, which i suspect is the only reason we're still here. As far as i know, we have less than 100 people still alive on board.

(The admiral pauses to let this sink in.)

SPC TSARDIKOS- 100? Where's the rest?

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- We ordered an evac, and i think that a few pods made it away... But there are no remaining UNSC ships in-system as far as we can tell to collect them. Casualty reports were... Massive. They employed a new energy-projector type weapon. It put 2 holes straight through us. Everyone in those sections...

(One of the ODSTs speaks up)

CPL LANCE- Where do we come in, sir?

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- We suspect that the covenant may soon try to board this ship, along with the others, to sweep for survivors, eliminate those in Cryo, and then tug all the ships to the poles to make room for glassing. When they attempt to board us, we will come out guns blazing and hijack a ship out of here. The reactor auto-shutdown to prevent a meltdown, but i will reactivate it and initiate a Wildcat De-Stabilization. That should obliterate nearby covenant ships if their shields are down.

SGT VASQUEZ- How do we prepare?

ADMIRAL FREEMONT- You have a whole armory, sergeant. There's 4 longswords and 5 pelicans left on board, but if all goes according to plan, we won't need them. I need to return to the bridge and coordinate the op. An officer will transmit updated orders to your neural laces.

(The admiral leaves.)

SGT VASQUEZ- You heard him. Gear up. There's no mission situational requirements for this one, so help yourselves to shredder rounds and shotguns. But stay away from the jackhammers and grenades. We don't need you slinging explosives around..

(He turns to the ODSTs)

SGT VASQUEZ- You, on the other hand...

(Two squads of marines walk out of the armory, decked out in full combat BDUs, carrying assault rifles and shotguns. 7 ODSTs also walked out, with jackhammer launchers, one SRS-99C sniper rifle, and, is if that wasn't enough, the burliest ODST hefted an M6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle- colloquially known as a "spartan laser", so named for it's large size, devastating power, and tendency to be carried by the armored super soldiers.

SGT. VASQUEZ- Alright, men, stand by to receive new orders.

(The soldiers feel a chill as mission parameters are transmitted to their neural laces. Way-points flash up on their HUDs.)

SGT. VASQUEZ- Alright, this is it. Bravo squad, you're at bulkhead 453. They're probably going to try to use the airlock to get in. You'll ambush them when they do. Alpha squad will guard the bridge, and then once we have reliable transport out of here, they will escort the admiral to engineering so he can blow up this ship and the covenant bastards outside. Clear?

ALL- Clear, sir!

SGT. VASQUEZ- Alright, move it out. Alpha, on me!

(SGT. VASQUEZ and Bravo squad jog down the corridor towards the bridge.)

CPL. BLAIR- Okay, we might as well get moving. Call up section 34 of the ship's schematic. It will tell us where we need to go and how to bypass damaged sections.

(Alpha squad also begins to move)

(Alpha jogs down the hallway, avoiding fires, sparking wires, fallen pipes, and an occasional corpse. They eventually reach junction 34-C, at bulkhead 543, the primary airlock.

CPL. BLAIR- Alright, dig in, people. Let's get 4 men around that corner. Set up those crates here, we need cover.

(Alpha's men get settled in and wait for the inevitable fight.)

-

(Author's note: Here's chapter 2. This is the buildup, shit will start going down next chapter. It's kind of hard to go with the whole "Black Box transcript" narration style, but it fits the mood. Anyway, i'm a budding author, and my shit is flawed in many ways. Drop me a review and tell me what you think. Reviews are more fun for me then writing the actual story. Even if they're negative.)


End file.
